Mixed Nut Bars

Does anyone else have those big bags of mixed cracking nuts and eat only a few? Actually, I usually end up left with a big bowl of everything but walnuts.
Well here is a recipe that I used up the leftover mixed nuts (or you could just do like my Mom and put them away and bring them out again)

Well, speaking of OLD NUTS (no not you Mom), these are the mixed nut bars that I made with the 2009 Gergayan leftover nuts. Back when I made these, I actually sat down and figured out the nutritional information per serving. It was a little shocking, so I destroyed it. Luckily, I have a good memory for these types of things, and I believe these were fat free!



recipe:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 cup mixed nuts (measure after you remove the shells)
3/4 cup corn syrup
3 tbsp butter
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

1. With a pastry blender, cut together the flour, icing sugar, and 1/2 cup butter. Press into an un-greased 9" x 13" pan. Bake 12 minutes at 350F.

2. Sprinkle nuts over crust.

3. In saucepan, melt 3 tbsp butter, butterscotch chips, and corn syrup. Pour over nuts. Bake 5 more minutes at 350F.

4. In another saucepan, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter. Spread over bars. Let stand until cool and cut into small rectangles (or big if you want, I don't care).

Savoury Chicken Tart

I made this chicken tart the other night for dinner. Let me explain what I did. I took a recipe that I found on Deborah's Blog... Taste and Tell... and I wrecked it. Well that might be a little harsh, what I did was make is LESS good. So if you want to make this the correct, yummy way - go see her blog. If you'd like to stay here and let me lead you astray.... read on.

This recipe just looked so yummy delicious to me, I couldn't help but want to try it. I decided to use diced chicken breast instead of sausages and skim milk instead of cream to lighten it up. That was silly, you can't lighten anything up when it's stuffed inside puffed pastry! It's sort of like putting a dollop of fat free cool whip on a huge slab of Pecan Pie... you might as well just pile on the REAL whip cream and enjoy it by that point!

The recipe also called for fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. I didn't have any, so I used canned tomatoes and dried basil (gasp).

OK so now I was done destroying a perfectly good recipe, I went on to make it. Well the recipe said to roll the puff pastry out into at 13" circle. The puff pastry I had in the freezer was already a 10" square, so I had a lot of fun trying to get into a circle. I folded in the corners and ended up with a 13" stop sign.

Then I was too lazy to blind bake the crust with my pie beads. So I just poked some holes in the crust and threw it in the oven as is. Well after 10 minutes I had a huge stop sign shaped pillow. I scratched my head for a few minutes trying to figure out where the heck I would put my filling. I ended up just mashing down the middle of the tart, I am using the word "tart" very loosely. Then I piled my filing in the centre.

When I was all done, I decided it was all still too fattening anyway, so while Mario and kids ate it, I had a plain chicken breast and a spinach salad. Despite my best attempts to destroy this dinner, they loved it!


recipe:
1 package (8oz) refrigerated puff pastry
1 lb diced cooked chicken breast
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Roll puff pastry on a floured surface into a circle that is 13" in diametre. Press dough into tart pan and fill with dried beans or pie beads. Bake 8-10 minutes at 425F.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the chicken, tomatoes, garlic, basil, cheeses, eggs, and milk. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour into baked "tart" shell and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until egg mixture is set.

4. Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Almond Caramel Clusters

Yesterday was one of those lazy Sundays, and I was in a compulsive, "I have to bake something fattening, so I can torture myself by not eating any" sort of moods. They really appealed to me.

So, I whipped up a batch of Caramel Almond Clusters and they were easy to make. I scaled the recipe slightly because I had enough mini-muffin tins to make 36 of them. I had a little extra chocolate left, so to use it up (without eating it all with a spoon) I just threw some almonds and dried cranberries into it, spread it on a plate and chilled it. Then I broke it into pieces.

Normally, when I make something "bad" like this, I bring it to my grandmas house, but one of these days, I'm going to get fired for trying to sabotage everyone's health.





makes 36 caramels
recipe:
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
36 Kraft caramels
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup whipping cream

1. Spray mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.

2. Divide almonds between the muffin tins (about a tsp each).

3. Using a pair of sharp, clean scissors, snip each caramel square into four little squares (for easier melting). Place 4 little squares (1 caramel) in each muffin tin on top of the almonds.

4. Bake at 350F for 8 minutes until the caramel starts to melt.

5. Place in fridge to cool for several minutes. Remove caramels from muffin tins. You might have to use the edge of a knife to help pop them out.

6. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate. Whisk in the cream.

7. Dip each caramel into chocolate until coated. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and chill until set (about 30 minutes). Store in airtight containter.

Saffron Couscous

My family hate couscous, but I love it and I'm selfish, so it really doesn't stop me from preparing it whenever I want. Plus, I figure they are never going to learn to like it unless they are exposed to it a bit.

This time they were complaining, "why is it all yellow?" I explained that the saffron made it yellow and they turned their noses up at that. So I decided that next time I make couscous, I am going to put a few drops of food colouring in it. Maybe I'll make it blue or purple. But knowing my family, and how illogical they are they'll gobble it up, if it's purple.
recipe:
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1 clove garlic1 green onion
2 tbps cilantro
1/8 tsp crush saffron threads

1. Finely chop the garlic, green onion and cilantro. Add to saucepan with chicken broth and saffron.

2. Bring to a boil. As soon as the broth is boiling, add the couscous and remove from heat.

3. Let sit 5 minutes and serve. I always use a 1/2 cup measure as a mold when I am serving it up (and a 1/4 cup measure for the kids).

Chicken Shawarma

I have experimented several times with making shawarmas at home, but I think it's just one of those things that you will never quite get right without the proper equipment, techniques and of course the secret recipe for that amazing garlic sauce (yum).

When I saw this recipe for chicken shawarmas in the July 2008 issue of Cooking Light magazine, I knew I had to try it. It didn't quite have the taste of an authentic Lebanese shawarma, but we thought this recipe was very good in its own right. The marinade on the chicken was great, and I could eat my chicken breasts just marinated and grilled this way anytime. The sauce was very good, and was probably way healthier than the sauce you would normally get on a shawarma.

Overall, we thought this recipe was a keeper.
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, July 2008
recipe:

Chicken:
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips

Sauce:
1/2 cup fat free plain yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt1 clove garlic, minced

Other ingredients:
Pita bread
Chopped lettuce
Tomato slices
Chopped red onion

1. Combine first 6 ingredients of marinade. Cut chicken into strips (I cut each breast into 3 strips) and pour marinade over chicken in a Ziploc bag. Marinade in fridge all day (or overnight).

2. To prepare sauce, combine yoghurt and next 4 ingredients. Mix well. The sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge.

3. Preheat barbeque grill. Shake the excess marinade off the chicken and thread on barbeque skewers. Grill for approximately 4 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through.

4. Place pita bread on the grill for a minute or two to warm.

5. To serve, place lettuce tomato and onion on top of the pita bread. Top with chicken and drizzle with sauce.

Turkish Chicken Thighs

This recipe was fabulous! I made this for the first time the other night, and it was a huge hit. I have been experimenting quite a bit lately with yoghurt based marinades for meat, because they really tenderize without adding much additional fat to your meal... and well, because they taste really good!

I found this recipe for Turkish Chicken Thighs on the website Eating Well which has tons of great healthy recipes. I had to go out and buy some hot paprika (I found "Hot Hungarian Paprika") and WOW, was it good. It was so much more flavourful than regular paprika. I threw all the rest of my regular paprika out, and I will only be using "Hot Hungarian Paprika" from now on.

Right after I mixed the marinade and tasted it, it had quite a kick to it, and I thought, "uh oh, the kids will never eat this", but after 24 hours in the fridge marinating, it mellowed and the kids never complained about the heat.The chicken was tender and juicy and the flavour was really great.


recipe:
8 skinless chicken thighs (I used boneless)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger2 tsp hot paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix together lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, ginger, paprika, mint and salt.

2. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the yogurt mixture over the chicken. Close the bag and mush it around.

3. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Preheat barbeque grill to med-high. Remove chicken from ziploc bag and discard marinade. Grill until chicken is juicy but cooked through (about 15 minutes).

5. Alternately, you could place the chicken on a broiler rack in the oven at 400F for about 15 minutes until cooked. Serve immediately.

Chanterelle and Zucchini Frittata

I have started making lots of frittata's for dinner. Frittata's are a great way to use up vegetables that I otherwise would have no idea what to do with. In fact, there have been times that I didn't even know what the vegetables were. Those nights we have "mystery frittata". Also, the kids will eat just about ANY frittata. So I can hide all sorts of obscenely healthy stuff in there!I generally follow the same basic frittata recipe and add in my chosen veggies/cheese/meat for the night.

recipe:
1 cup fresh golden chanterelles, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
8 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp each salt and pepperdash hot sauce
1oz finely grated grano padano cheese

1. Saute onion, garlic, zucchini and chanterelles in butter until soft in a 8" non-stick skillet (make sure the handle of your skillet is oven proof).

2. Beat eggs with milk, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Pour over veggies in skillet.

3. Cook over med-low heat until bottom and edges of frittata are set (about 7 minutes). Sprinkle with cheese and place skillet until broiler until eggs are set in the middle and the cheese is golden brown.

4. Slice into 4 slices (a lot of frittata recipes say that they serve 6, but if you're eating this as a main dish, I'd say 4 is a more realistic serving size).

Rice Fritters

Have some leftover rice? That's never a problem in my house. Leftover rice always gets used. There are so many things you can use it for. I love taking cold rice salads for lunch (leftover white rice, tomato, cucumber, green onion, garlic and a splash of red wine vinegar and olive oil - yum). My kids simply adore fried rice, which I often make for them with leftovers. You can also throw leftover rice into soup or stew or a sandwich (OK. OK. You got me. I've never put in a sandwich, but I bet you could!!)

Anyway, here's my favorite way to deal with leftover rice. Usually I would make this with leftover risotto, but any leftover rice that is a little on the sticky side will do (you just need to be able to shape it into a ball that will stay formed). This time, I had some leftover Persian Rice. Sadly, I had my Mom and Dad for dinner the night I made it, and in all the excitement I forgot to take pictures of the original rice recipe. The next day, I made these Rice Fritters.

These are really tremendous! I am surprised that you don't see this on appetizer menu's in restaurants more often, alongside the fried zucchini, potato skins and the nachos... (and they are WAY better than your run of the mill deep fried mozzarella sticks).

I am going to leave the amounts out of the recipe, because it really all depends on how much leftover rice you have. Just start with one egg and about 1/2 cup of crumbs, because you can always add more if you run out, but if you crack 8 eggs and dump out your whole box of panko... well... that wasn't very smart. Why'd you do that?
recipe:
Leftover rice
Panko crumbs Eggs
Mozzarella Cheese
Dipping Sauce (Marinara Style)

1. Shape the rice into balls that are, in diameter, precisely halfway in between a walnut and a golf ball... just kidding! Just make your balls "yay big".

2. Cut some mozzarella into little cubes (about 1 cm square).

3. Make a depression with your finger in each rice ball and press in a mozzarella cube. Close the rice back up to completely enclose the ooey-gooey mozzarella goodness.

4. Roll the rice balls around in beaten egg, and then in panko crumbs until well coated.

5. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, to set coating.

6. Preheat oven to 400F (use convection if you have it). Place the rice balls on a baking sheet that you've sprayed with cooking spray. Spray more cooking spray on top of the rice balls. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Turn them around and give them another squirt of cooking spray halfway through. (FYI - the original recipe called for these to be deep fried, but I don't like to deep fry at home).

7. Serve with your favorite marinara-type dipping sauce (I used canned pizza sauce).

Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts

Nothing beats homemade doughnuts.

So the doughnuts are yummy.

You can either douse them in cinnamon sugar or icing sugar. I always keep a spice bottle in my cupboard filled with cinnamon sugar that I make with 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon (for anybody who might be fractionally challenged that means I would add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to 3 tablespoons of sugar). This is great to have on hand to sprinkle on toast. I used the whole bottle on these doughnuts.

These are best served still warm.
recipe:
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted1 cup milk
4 cups flour (plus a little more if dough is sticky)
oil for frying (lots)
Cinnamon Sugar (tons)

1. In a large bowl mix the sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

2. Add eggs, milk and melted butter. Beat well.

3. Add 3 cups of the flour, beating until blended. Add one more cup of flour and beat well. The dough should be soft and sticky but firm enough to handle. If you feel its necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour (I once got a question from a reader as to whether when I said "chill" I meant in the refrigerator... um yes that's what I meant, but I can see how this could be confusing, I could have meant "Like OK, cover with plastic wrap, and then um like chill, ya know on the couch, for like an hour... like OK?")

5. After you're done chilling on the couch, remove your dough from the fridge and begin heating about 1" of oil to 360F in a large metal skillet. I actually don't have one of those fancy schmancy candy thermometres (hello Santa are you reading?)... somebody remember to ask me after Christmas how many candy thermometres I get...

6. Working half the dough at a time, roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/2" thickness. Cut out circles using a doughnut cutter. If you don't have a doughnut cutter (Santa?) then use a regular cookie cutter and cut out the hole with the screw cap off a 40oz bottle of Newfoundland Screech.

7. Decide that you are too cool for school and take a big swig of the Screech for no good reason. Once the burning subsides and you stop crying and sputtering, push the scraps of dough back together, re-roll and repeat steps 6 through 7 over and over until (a) all the dough is used up or (b) you pass out.*

8. Gently drop the doughnuts in batches into the hot oil. Flip them over as they puff and turn them a couple more times as they cook. They will take 3-4 minutes in total and they will be lovely and golden brown all over.

9. Remove from the oil and set them on paper towels (that removes all the fat, you know). Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Enjoy them hot, and eat at least four, you need some carbs in your belly to soak up all that Screech.

Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

Combine excessive heavy thick dessert-as-dinner with gloom doom sober presidential town hall debate and you will concoct a devil of a poison resulting in indigestion and mental constipation. I baked this recipe chosen by Wee Treats by Tammy for this week and prior to baking was anticipating the oozing caramel complimented by crunchy salty peanuts. My belly is a gaping vacuum never to be filled, and combined with thoughts of this chocolate cake topped with this goop really had my heart aching for it. Let’s get on with the cake!


I followed the recipe in a book, pretty verbatim except some ingredient changes. I used sugar cane syrup instead of corn syrup because that’s really bad for you. I didn’t have plain white sugar so I used sugar in the raw. I grated my cheese because I like grater. It baked for 40 minutes and I used all the caramel sauce, just pouring it over the cake in excess.
The chocolate cake was overpowered by the caramel, I barely tasted the chocolate, I’m convinced .5 oz just isn’t enough, or maybe it has something to do with the grating? I doubt it.


The caramel was a bit too dark, and it would have been perfect if it weren’t for that 5 second turn of the head toward the tv move I pulled. Because literally, one second it was light amber, by the time I turned my head back it was dark. It tasted a bit burnt in the end and it was too strong and excessive. I’m not so convinced about the peanut either. I don’t think it’s a complimentary element. I dont remember which blog but someone replaced it with popcorn, that probably would’ve been better, still salty without being overbearingly crunchy.


I have to say it wasn’t as rich and overbearing, as if the cooling element hardening the caramel and eating after having microwaved it a few seconds just isn’t as present as it was yesterday. I can’t it was as much of a success as the coconut brownies or plum cake or creme brulee were but I learned out to caramelize and having it be a learning experience is what counts.

Trouble is a friend

Lauren Conrad
Age: 20

Hometown: Laguna Beach, CA

Relationship Status: Single and ready to mingle

Quote: "Spencer is a sucky person!"

Claim to Hills Fame: The fashion student-turned-reality star, known as LC to the Laguna Beach faithful, is again at the forefront of the third season of her MTV series The Hills. This time, the normally nice girl is ready to rumble - especially when it comes to refuting comments her former-BFF Heidi and her man Spencer have made about her in the media.

About L.A. CandyL.A. Candy, Lauren Conrad’s first novel, is a book that raises all sorts of important questions. For example, what exactly is “just the right amount of sexy stubble”? What qualifies as “off-the-charts SAT scores”? What is the appropriate attire to wear with a microphone?

In the proud tradition of Jack Kerouac, James Joyce, and Philip Roth, Conrad’s first novel is semiautobiographical: The story follows Jane Roberts as she moves to L.A. to fulfill her dream of becoming an “events planner,” and on the way gets cast as the star of a reality series.

Those looking for a true roman à clef, however, may be somewhat disappointed. While there are clearly some analogs that a seasoned viewer of The Hills cannot miss (“Jesse Edwards”=Brody Jenner, “Hannah”=Whitney, “Fiona Chen”=Lisa Love/Kelly Cutrone) there are no real Heidi or Spencer counterparts and the book isn’t really a thinly veiled tell-all of the “juicy secrets” behind the show.

The most revealing section of the book in that respect may be the Acknowledgments page where, in addition to thanking her “collaborator” Nancy Ohlin, Conrad thanks her “best friends”: Maura, Lo, Jillian, Natania and Britton….Now, I know Lo, but who the hell are those other four?! Eighty percent of Lauren’s BEST FRIENDS are people who I’ve never seen on TV before?

It is understandable that Conrad is not interested in revealing more details of her personal life; she just wants to tell a story. At times, however, this can be quite frustrating. Filming of the show-within-the-book (called, naturally, “L.A. Candy”) doesn’t even start until after the first 100 pages. Reading those pages has kind of a “get-on-with-it” feeling, like reading the first 75 pages of Crime and Punishment, before Raskolnikov kills anyone. (God, did I jut compare Lauren Conrad to Dostoevsky? That was unintentional.)

Those first 100 pages are very expository, as we are introduced to the novel’s other characters, including Scarlett, Jane’s best friend, Braden, Jane’s love interest, and Trevor Lord, the Adam Divello of the novel, who casts Jane and Scarlett for PopTV and runs the show (get it? His name is “Lord” because he controls everything). Some of these character introductions are awkward, as the writing tends to err on the “tell” side of the show/tell ratio. When Jane and Scarlett meet Diego, or “D”, a friendly personal assistant, for example, this exchange occurs:
“Oh, double F. It’s the boss lady. I’ve gotta bail, sweets, or she’s going to serve my private parts on a sushi platter at her dinner party tonight.”

Jane giggled. D was one of the funniest guys she’d ever met. He was quick and sassy, but friendly.
Conrad also spends a disproportionate amount of the book on physical appearances: height, makeup, hair color, clothing, stubble-lengths, hairstyles. We are constantly reminded that certain characters look “cute” or “hot” or “awesome,” particularly Scarlett, who is quite the stunner.

I would definitely choose Lauren !